Infrared thermal imaging instruments commonly are used for obtaining temperature profiles of objects such as industrial machines or components of operating equipment. Inspecting an object's operating temperature conditions can reveal whether a failure is imminent or a machinery adjustment is necessary.
Thermal imaging instruments are necessary because the human eye cannot perceive temperature directly. Thermographic imaging systems operate by mapping detected temperatures to the spectrum of visible light. A relatively cold temperature may be displayed as a black or blue color while a relatively hot temperature may be displayed as a red or white color. Given the large number of discrete temperatures an imager can detect and the relatively small number of colors that can be displayed on a typical screen and appreciated by the human eye, it is not practical to map every detectable temperature to a unique color. Instead, it is desirable to map only a subset of the detectable temperatures to the displayed color range.
Known thermal imagers map a large range of detectable temperatures to a smaller color range and some known thermal imagers provide user configuration options. Typically, however, such systems are unintuitive and difficult to use. Furthermore, while these systems may present the user with various configuration options, no intuitive or graphical indication is provided to assist the user in successfully configuring or understanding the display.